Books

An exposition on successful economies impresses Howard Davies, but may not thrill the REF panels

California in the 1970s: LSD, seances...quantum mechanics? Chris Sachrajda takes a strange trip

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

A grand biological theory for what makes us so special does not convince Steven Rose

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

David Nutt applauds a well-balanced evaluation of narcotics law, with all its inconsistencies and flaws

Mary Warnock navigates the moral questions that come to bear on the having of children

Sketches of a street where Boz grew up - and a place that scarred him - captivate Valerie Sanders

Eva Aldea is intrigued by an account of our enduring fascination with barbarous images

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Tom Palaima lauds a reflection on the millennia-old struggle to express original ideas through language

Michelle Harvey gets caught up in the evolutionary arms race of six-legged predators and prey

The demise of state funding has altered students' attitudes to the legal profession, says Huw Morris

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Fred Inglis applauds a polemic on higher education's purpose and the perils it faces

Judith Weingarten is fascinated by the woman who, amid decline and fall, ruled an empire for 12 years

An investigation into our behaviour shows we're not as logical as we imagine, Miriam Teschl discovers

A weekly look over the shoulders of our scholar-reviewers

Sarah Toulalan lauds a look at how carnal crime and punishment gave way to a stress on private consent

Impressions of an 'unknowable' China at the end of the Cultural Revolution fascinate Kerry Brown